tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7573643993147698300.post4543342673895181367..comments2015-02-28T09:11:08.450-07:00Comments on One Speed: Go!: Cycling is Not FunJohn Romeo Alphahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289456379789026152noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7573643993147698300.post-31841275399843073552010-06-01T23:32:02.567-07:002010-06-01T23:32:02.567-07:00Kokorozashi thanks for stopping by the blog. You&#...Kokorozashi thanks for stopping by the blog. You&#39;re right--my commute is not the shortest or quickest route, it&#39;s the *best* route. :)<br /><br />I see you have a related post over at your place. I have a response <a href="http://mybeautifulmachine.blogspot.com/2010/06/fun-and-practical-is-this-concept-so.html" rel="nofollow">over there</a>.John Romeo Alphahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289456379789026152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7573643993147698300.post-73444170838950214942010-06-01T09:19:11.106-07:002010-06-01T09:19:11.106-07:00Brilliant (especially the horse)! I&#39;m glad th...Brilliant (especially the horse)! I&#39;m glad that I finished my tea before reading this :D<br /><br />Here&#39;s my analysis: I live and work in a city where we have car-commuters, bus-commuters, foot-commuters, and bike-commuters (and some multimodal types, but since they mess up my &#39;statistical&#39; sample I&#39;m ignoring them :D). <br /><br />The only people I know who go out of their way to make their commute *longer* are the bike-commuters -- and since most of us find plenty of other time to ride, it&#39;s not just to get more &#39;training&#39; in. In the same vein, almost every bike commuter I know goes out of his or her way to take the long way either to work, to home, or both as frequently as possible.<br /><br />Likewise, if you take a look at the faces of the commuters in question, only the cyclists are likely to be grinning like idiots (though, to the defense and probably to the great comfort of the drivers and walkers, we do pay air-guitar much less often). This makes me think that A) idiots must be pretty happy, on the balance, and B) unless all cyclists are idiots (which experience does not suggest), cycling must be pretty fun.<br /><br />I suspect that many of us who become bike commuters (or cyclists of any stripe, really) have a slightly different idea of what &#39;fun&#39; means than other people -- and I&#39;m with you. Cycling is definitely fun (if sometimes slightly masochistic fun). If it wasn&#39;t, all the environmental sensitivity and self-sacrificial dedication in the world wouldn&#39;t make us stick with it.<br /><br />I wonder, though, has anyone done a study on the difference between &#39;fun&#39; and &#39;enjoyable?&#39;Kokorozashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10226186864904149792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7573643993147698300.post-9575021427930151072010-05-27T18:42:08.171-07:002010-05-27T18:42:08.171-07:00cycler I really don&#39;t know what happened with ...cycler I really don&#39;t know what happened with your comment--it just showed up in my &quot;unmoderated comments&quot; box today (May 27). I laughed at the joke. Thanks for stopping by the blog!John Romeo Alphahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289456379789026152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7573643993147698300.post-17613896589244581782010-05-17T19:39:26.933-07:002010-05-17T19:39:26.933-07:00Dodging the fun/ no fun argument (I suppose I come...Dodging the fun/ no fun argument (I suppose I come down on the side of fun, mostly). I LOVE the idea of the sculpture forming opinions of the people riding by every day!<br />Reminds me of a joke- God gives two sculptures life for a day. They disappear into the shrubbery, and rustling ensues. God peeks into the shrubbery, and witnesses the male statue saying to the female statue, OK, now you hold the pigeon down and I&#39;ll shit on him!&quot;cyclerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10331461189944538729noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7573643993147698300.post-31812723344325018322010-05-14T18:02:07.438-07:002010-05-14T18:02:07.438-07:00BluesCat, maybe this will help a little: you are t...BluesCat, maybe this will help a little: you are trying to apply math (actual distance traveled, actual time to travel, actual weight transported) and logical analysis (what&#39;s be mean by that? When Mikael uses the term &quot;Anthropology&quot;, in what sense is he employing it? What is his main premise, and what support does he offer for that premise?) to a blog that seems to be primarily about marketing, fashion, a Eurocentric perspective, and what I refer to as a traditionalist cycling monoculture--my way or the highway (in a car). When he uses the word &quot;quickest&quot;, for example, he doesn&#39;t mean the same thing as you or I. It&#39;s too bad, because I think he really does know a lot about what works when it comes to getting more people to ride bicycles.<br /><br />Big Oak, hope you have better conditions next week!John Romeo Alphahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289456379789026152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7573643993147698300.post-31207761959369223062010-05-14T17:03:52.928-07:002010-05-14T17:03:52.928-07:00Clever use of the statuary!
After a particularly ...Clever use of the statuary!<br /><br />After a particularly difficult ride in crummy conditions I look back and think that although it may not have been fun, but at least I accomplished something.Big Oakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713190395281794960noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7573643993147698300.post-32423243676347736272010-05-14T15:33:35.578-07:002010-05-14T15:33:35.578-07:00Now, let me see if I have this right.
It takes me...Now, let me see if I have this right.<br /><br />It takes me a little over 30 minutes to ride the slightly less than 8 miles to work, I drive it in the car in less than 15 minutes.<br /><br />Yet, I commute by bike to work 3 days out of the week, and I would do it the other 2 days of the week if it weren&#39;t for meeting commitments I have on those two days which require my driving to them.<br /><br />BUT, I bike commute (according to Mikael) because of <b>A2Bism</b>, because it&#39;s the quickest and easiest way to do it? Folks who know me know I&#39;m not a Lycra wearing road bike addict: my main commuter bike is a long wheelbase recumbent which tips the scales at 40 pounds when it DOESN&#39;T have the panniers, rack pack, handlebar bag, seat bag, etc., etc., on it.<br /><br />According to Mikael, then I must be doing it because it is &quot;enjoyable,&quot; but NOT &quot;fun.&quot; I find it hard to discriminate between the two: the things that I enjoy ... well ... ARE FUN! If they weren&#39;t fun, I wouldn&#39;t enjoy doing them!<br /><br />Help me here, JRA, what am I missing?<br /><br />(BTW, 100° temps may be here next week. YEAH!)BluesCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14131717718194330990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7573643993147698300.post-14757066749145376702010-05-14T02:02:32.677-07:002010-05-14T02:02:32.677-07:00X is not fun when Y is a pretty easy way to make a...X is not fun when Y is a pretty easy way to make any X sound not fun. Sex is no fun when you have a migraine, for example.John Romeo Alphahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289456379789026152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7573643993147698300.post-62750889030081713692010-05-14T00:07:07.849-07:002010-05-14T00:07:07.849-07:00Cycling ISN&#39;T fun all the time. Ride in a thun...Cycling ISN&#39;T fun all the time. Ride in a thunderstorm with a stiff headwind and get a flat if you doubt it. It IS, however fun most of the time...Steve Ahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13650405341304401203noreply@blogger.com